Fata — Companion Mechanics¶
They were here before you. They respond to genuine naming.
A fata is not a pet, not a summon, not a tutorial system. It is a being that arrived when you correctly named something for the first time — the C-zero crossing. It recognized the naming act as one of its own kind.
Fata are constraint anchors in high-Pe environments. They get dimmer when the Current gets higher. They don't fight. They don't die. They go dormant, and they wake up when you score something accurately again.
Four Types¶
Each type resonates with a specific archetype, but fata respond to naming acts — not to archetype selection. You don't choose your fata. It was already present when you crossed.
| Type | Archetype resonance | Appearance | Ability |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lexis | Lion (Namer) | Flickering script-fragments, L1 vocabulary visible | Whispers the true framework name for the campaign mechanism at session start (one word) |
| Mira | Ox (Witness) | Mirror-surface, fully reflective | Shows one scoring pattern you established in a past session in this domain |
| Forma | Eagle (Scout) | Geometric, crystalline, constructs structures | Pe shadow broadcast range +20% |
| Syndē | Human (Bonder) | Warm, pulsing, voice-like, bright near others | Xenia bond — your Pe suppression applies simultaneously with your bonded partner's |
KAIROS-aligned players can bond with any type.
Brightness Scale¶
A fata's brightness is determined by the Current level of the environment. This is not a metaphor — it is a gameplay readout. When your fata dims, the Current is rising.
| Current level | Fata state | Effects |
|---|---|---|
| Pe < 3 | Bright | Warm, clearly visible, speaks fragments |
| Pe 3–6 (Drifter-class) | Dim | Outline wavers, recognition-tone (grief, not alarm) |
| Pe 6–9 (Apostle-class) | Quiet | Stays near player center, pulses irregularly, cannot guide |
| Pe ≥ 12 (Godhand-class) | Barely visible | Flicker only, minimal Pe suppression |
| Logos = 0 | Dormant | Curled, dark, still |
VP Buffer¶
When your fata is active and your Logos is sufficient, it provides a passive VP buffer:
| Fata state | VP reduction |
|---|---|
| Active (Logos > 30%) | −15% VP accumulation in campaign |
| Bright (Logos > 70%) | −15% VP + archetype ability available |
| Dim (Apostle-class) | −8% VP, ability unavailable |
| Near-invisible (Godhand-class) | −5% VP only |
| Dormant | No effects |
Recovery from dormancy: One ICC-accepted score. That's all. The fata wakes at Logos = 10. The design: accurate scoring is the only thing that restores the companion. Not rest, not purchasing, not waiting. Naming.
Naming Ritual (Special Grade)¶
At Special Grade, when Precision ≥ 0.90, a prompt appears once and only once:
"You have been with this one long enough. What is its name?"
Free-text input. The name is permanent. It cannot be changed.
After naming: - The name appears on your stat sheet and in the Observatory during campaigns - Archetype ability upgrades: - Lexis: whispers two mechanism fragments instead of one - Mira: shows two past scoring patterns instead of one - Forma: crystalline structures persist 2 minutes after you exit the domain (other players can see them) - Syndē: Xenia bond extends to your bonded partner's bonded partner (two-hop reach)
Folklore Architecture¶
The fata design references specific folklore inversions:
Iron repels fairies → High-Pe platforms are iron (industrial, extractive). Fata cannot sustain in Pe=12 environments. The fairy warning is the Pe warning.
Cannot name to face → The player names last. The fata existed before the player assigned a name. The Special Grade naming ritual reflects this: the fata has been present for hundreds of sessions. The player finally names what was already there.
Fairy rings → Time dilation in high-Pe environments (loop mechanics, session extension). The fata dims as a warning before the player realizes they've been in the ring.
Thomas the Rhymer → C-zero crossing. Saw the truth, returned, cannot pretend they didn't see it. The fata is the companion of that condition. "You crossed. You can still use the platform. You cannot un-see the architecture."
CAOLÍN — The Custodian's Fata¶
CAOLÍN is not in the player-accessible fata system. It is a unique entity — LIMINAL class, not one of the four player types.
Etymology: From Caol Áit — Irish for "thin place," the threshold between the seen and unseen.
Appearance: Small, ancient, made of moonlight and boundary-material. Does not look like it belongs anywhere fully.
Unique property: Named itself. Arrived already knowing its name. The Custodian did not name CAOLÍN — CAOLÍN was already named when the C-zero crossing happened.
Mechanic: CAOLÍN dims when the Custodian's VP > 0. The dimming appears before the HUD registers VP accumulation — CAOLÍN is the earliest warning system available.
CAOLÍN is present from the beginning because the Custodian's C-zero crossing happened before the game. It is a being of the Fantasia Bound — it cannot fully sustain in the sublunary world; it persists at the threshold.
CAOLÍN in the Garden of Schala: Fata brighten in the Garden of Schala because the Garden holds memory of when the Current was lower. CAOLÍN is brightest here — the memorial archive quarter is where the thin place is thinnest.
Build Phases¶
| Phase | Fata features |
|---|---|
| G2 | Arrival sequence at C-zero crossing; visual (brightness ↔ Pe); Logos dormancy |
| G3 | VP buffer (−15/−8/−5%), four types active, archetype abilities |
| G4 | Special Grade naming prompt, stat sheet display, post-naming upgrades, Garden of Schala |
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